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Sunday of the Myrrh Bearers, 2006
The world-saving Event of Pascha, is greatly celebrated world-wide in our Holy Orthodox Church for 40 days, until the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven. Today we commemorate the Myrrh Bearers. That is, the women, who according to the Jewish custom went to the Tomb to anoint the Body of our Lord. Just as they were nearing the Tomb they faced a reality, which troubled them. How would they be able to remove the huge stone sealing the Tomb. But, as they approached, they saw the Tomb open, and rushing to execute their duty, they saw an Angel, who said to them. “Do not fear; for I know, that you seek, Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He is risen as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” This declaration of the Angel, is the first testimony regarding the Resurrection of our Lord! Upon hearing the Angel’s words, the hearts of the myrrh-bearing women were filled with ineffable joy. They immediately departed, rushing to announce the glad tidings to the Holy Apostles. Looking back on the Events of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection, we must agree, that the day before Pascha was indeed a triumph for the wicked. The enemies of Jesus had succeeded in their mission. They had crucified the Lord, and subsequently asked for authority from Pontius Pilate to seal and guard the Tomb with soldiers, day and night until the third day, lest His Disciples come and steal the Body, and then spread the news that Jesus arose from the dead! For a while, it seemed as if the supernatural had been given away to the natural;-- that is, to the world of death and decay! Then came the Glorious Day of Pascha, Easter. The natural had to submit to the supernatural. The curtain was raised, and now we behold the awesome beauty and the glory of the world beyond the grave, where death no longer has any dominion! St. John the Chrysostom, as you may remember from his Paschal Sermon at the end of the Holy Resurrection Liturgy, so very plainly stated: “The grave took earth, and behold, it encountered Heaven. It took what it saw, and was overcome, by what it did not see.” Then St. John poses the questions: “O Death where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is Risen, and life is liberated. Christ is Risen, and you are annihilated. Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down. Christ is Risen, and the tombs are emptied of the dead. Christ, having risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those, who have fallen asleep!” These words, my beloved, are but a small excerpt from the 1600-year old Paschal sermon of St. John the Chrysostom, with which I pray that all Christians may become familiar. The day of the Resurrection is unique for all Christians. It is a day, in which we all have a real opportunity to re-affirm our faith. St. John the Evangelist, in his Gospel, very appropriately states this very fact, when he says: This is the victory, that has conquered over the whole world; our faith in Jesus!” The Day of the Holy Resurrection is as I stated, very vividly celebrated in our Holy Orthodox Churches for 40 Days, and this constitutes the greatest proof, that after death, there surely is life; and Life Eternal, indeed. Two thousand years ago, the followers of Jesus, witnessing His many miracles, and hearing his many Teachings, really had believed that the long awaited Messiah had come. The Great Liberator was amongst them, and they believed, that finally He would set them free from the Roman occupation and oppression. But, when they saw that He died, and was buried like any other mortal, their hopes were shattered, and were buried with Him. However, the devoted women, executing a Jewish custom, proceed at the crack of dawn to anoint the Body of their Teacher. Suddenly, they remembered the gigantic stone, with which the grave was sealed, and they questioned one another, how the stone could be removed. To their great surprise, when they approached the Tomb, they saw it opened, and rapidly proceeding and entering, they become the first witnesses of the miracle of all miracles! They learned of the Resurrection from the Angel sitting at the Tomb. They had come to the Tomb to find death, and they discovered life! They came with heavy hearts, but departed with tears of great joy! Friday, they were the last to leave the site of the Crucifixion; Now they are the first to find an empty Tomb. Two days ago, they lived the saddest day of their life; their hopes completely shattered. Now, hearing of the Lord’s Resurrection from the Angel at the Tomb, they experience the happiest day of their life. After the Resurrection, we see the Lord amongst His Loved ones, once again. Mary’s tears of sadness become tears of Joy. Peter, who denied Him 3 times only a couple of days before, is now filled with repentance and confesses: “Lord, You know that I love You!” Thomas, the doubting Apostle after seeing and hearing the Lord falls on his knees and exclaims: “My Lord and my God!” All these, and so many others were able to say: “we have seen and have spoken with the Risen Lord.” This rebirth, which came to their hearts as a result of the Resurrection, was enough to give the Apostles the necessary courage, and the strength to suffer great trials, and finally martyrdom for the Lord’s sake and His Glory! The miracle of the Resurrection can, and surely must become a source of miracles in our own life as dedicated Christians. We must finally come to grasp the full meaning of the Resurrection with a faith in Jesus, which is unshakable. This faith should be our most important and most prized possession. Then, and only then, will miracles happen in our life. Only through our genuine faith will we be able to see ourselves victorious through any of the great trails and tribulations that come our way. When we possess the experience of this true and unshakable faith, we will sense deeply within ourselves, that any of our “Great Friday” experiences, will always be succeeded by a resurrection. I don’t think that I’m wrong when I say, that so many Christians derive very little, if any, real benefit from the great glory of the Lord’s Resurrection. So many Christians have reduced this Holy Period, concentrating on so many and varied preparations in their homes, Exhausting themselves in their shoppi9g for food, and the clothing, that they will wear on this glorious Day of Pascha, the Feast of all Feasts. As a result, so many Christians merely go through the routing and the mechanics of Pascha, missing the most important and central theme of Pascha. Regardless then, of how we chose to celebrate Pascha, this unique and most Holy Day has only one central and most powerful meaning. It is the Feast of Victory-The victory of Christ over sin. It is the Day of triumph conquering over death, and surely it is the guarantee of our own Resurrection and Eternal Life. That is why St Paul emphasized that “we do not have a City, which remains here, but we seek the City, which is to come!” that is, our Eternal Life. So it is, that just as we seek to exercise physically, and are as careful as we can be with our physical counterpart, more so we should be most concerned for our spiritual; counterpart, our eternal soul, which is the breath of life God breathed into us. We should diligently go through our spiritual exercises, in order to make our soul as strong as possible, so as to be able to withstand the temptations of this world;---but more importantly, to be able to see our way through the ,many trials and tribulations we all face in life, at one time or another. Our focusing on the power of our Lord’s Resurrection and how He is there to always support us, this alone, should give us the necessary strength, and the power to emerge victoriously from any of life’s adversities. Amen
+Fr. George Papadeas |
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